Royals end home schedule with a loss

Brandon Duckworth pitched well and kept his team in the game until Chicago’s Paul Konerko hit a two run homer in the seventh as the Royals drop the rubber game of the series losing 3-0.

Sox pitcher John Danks baffled the Royals’ hitters all day as he allowed just four hits and one walk over seven innings while striking out three. After two singles in the first inning, Jim Thome hit a sac fly to give the Sox a 1-0 lead and it would stay that way until the 7 th . After Duckworth walked Thome, Konerko hit his 18 th of the year to left field.

Just six games left to play for Kansas City, three tomorrow in Detroit, an off day Thursday, then three at Minnesota. The Royals could still be in the mix of playoff implications come next weekend for the Twins who trail Chicago by just 1.5 games in the AL Central.